Roosevelt in, Labatte out as Riders prepare for CFL East semi-final

The Saskatchewan Roughriders held a closed, indoor workout on Day 2 of their work week as they prepare for Sunday’s Eastern Semifinal at Ottawa. Here are some notes:

– Head Coach & GM Chris Jones announced that Lineman of the Year Brendon Labatte will miss Sunday’s game due to injury. Veteran Derek Dennis will play the Left Guard spot.

– Jones announced that WR Naaman Roosevelt will be in the lineup Sunday.

– Jones would not name a starting tailback for the game. Asked who will start, Jones smiled and said, “We’ll see.”

– Duron Carter will start at WR but may see time on defense as well.

– Punter Josh Bartel said there’s a lot of hunger for a Grey Cup championship on this team. He said there was a meeting of the “Over 30” club on Thursday and that included 12 players. Many of them have never won a Grey Cup including Kevin Glenn, Peter Dyakowski, Bakari Grant and Bartel. Grant has been on the losing team in three of the last four Grey Cups.

– Bartel said he’s particularly motivated to become the first Australian-born player to win a Grey Cup. He quipped that as it stands now, he’s the only Australian to lose a Grey Cup, since he was on the 2013 Ticats who lost at Saskatchewan.

– Calgary LB Alex Singleton got the nod Thursday as the CFL West Division Most Outstanding Player nomination. He beat out Rider DB Ed Gainey for the award, prompting Gainey to Tweet, “I guess tackles are better than turnovers.”

– The finalists for Coach of the Year were announced on Thursday as well. Calgary’s Dave Dickenson represents the West against Toronto’s Marc Trestman out of the East.

– The Riders will hold one final practice Friday morning before jetting to Ottawa in the afternoon. Chris Jones said it’s yet to be determined whether they’ll go indoors for the workout.